Delay reaction by Hargrove keeps Mariners afloat

The Mariners were one strike from possibly losing to the Indians 4-0 in the fifth inning when Seattle manager Mike Hargrove came out of the dugout in the snow and all but demanded that home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez halt the game.

Marquez had called delays two other times earlier in the game when the conditions were about the same — heavy snow flurries that all but blinded the hitters.

He didn’t call it, so Hargrove came out. That brought Eric Wedge, the Indians manager out to protest Hargrove’s protest.

Those two hashed it out for a couple of minutes with the umpiring crew, the Marquez realized the snow was too heavy to go on, and the game was halted at 7:24 p.m. (EDT) with two out in the fourth.

Seattle, although still hitless, had the bases loaded on walks and a 1-2 count on Lopez, who was the tying run.